Download Knowledge Directly to Your Brain, Matrix-Style

For the first time, researchers have been able to hack into the process of learning in the brain, using induced brain patterns to create a learned
behavior. It’s not quite as advanced as an instant kung-fu download, and it’s not as sleek as cognitive inception, but it’s still an important
finding that could lead to new teaching and rehabilitation techniques.

Future therapies could decode the brain activity patterns of an athlete or a musician, and use them as a benchmark for teaching another person a new
activity, according to the researchers.

Scientists from Boston University and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto used functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, to
study the learning process. They were examining the adult brain’s aptitude for visual perceptual learning, or VPL, in which repetitive training
improves a person’s performance on a particular task. Whether adults can do this as well as young people has been an ongoing debate in
neuroscience.

Oh the possibilities here! What would be the first skill or "activity" you'd want to have uploaded? That is a tough question for me, too many to list.
Think of the marketability aspect if they are able to perfect this, Vanilla Skyesque, at least I think that was the movie where they uploaded
scenarios that you "lived" out. Even more, could they eventually do a brain transplant...not a physical transplant in the conventional sense, but just
the conscience and adjoining subcon.

The possibilities are quite fascinating the more I think about it.

ETA: For those having link trouble, here is a link to the "technology" articles, it should be the third one down, the link I originally posted is
working for me, my apologies for the inconvenience.

POPSCI Technology Articles
Note: these stories will most likely update with time and this story will most likely be archived eventually.

Maybe its just me, maybe I'm just cynical...but I don't see this as good...I see this as a fullproof way of creating a obedient population of zombie
cloned slave workers who are good at "skills" such as doing as they are told, not asking questions etc etc...

They will impliment this forcefully like they do education, rehabilitation, etc...

They will start with prisons and rehab centers first where the courts order them to be "re-educated" or face indefinate imprisonment.

Hell they already have the enough drugs and senseless vauge laws made to eventually get every single last person with an ounce of free will caught up
in the machine.

Interesting enough, I cannot pinpoint something in particular I'd want to "learn" that way, maybe something that would make me enjoy washing my
dishes would be a good start

I wouldn't like to be one of the first to try it thought, wouldn't like to end bugged because one of the instruction
put into my brain would be in conflict with already existing instructions. In fact the more I think about it, I prefer the old way of learning, trial
and error.

The possibilities of this ARE great but the way it will end up being used is not so great.

I see it like this: The government or corporations will buy all patents for this and then decide who gets what knowledge and skills based on the
amount of money they have.
Or if its from the government, they can create the "perfect" version of slavery where they program you what they need you to do when you're born
and also take away or mask your creativity and judgement.

I'd love to look at the bright side of things but the way things seem to be going, I'm seeing a William Gibson vision of this technologies use.

For the first time, researchers have been able to hack into the process of learning in the brain, using induced brain patterns to create a learned
behavior. It’s not quite as advanced as an instant kung-fu download, and it’s not as sleek as cognitive inception, but it’s still an important
finding that could lead to new teaching and rehabilitation techniques.
.

“It can ‘incept’ a person to acquire new learning, skills, or memory, or possibly to restore skills or knowledge that has been damaged
through accident, disease, or aging, without a person’s awareness of what is learned or memorized,” they write.

So it can insert knowledge and memories into a persons mind without them even knowing...

reminds me of an episode of the twilight zone i watched recently where in the future you can buy memories

the downfall is those memories have to come from someone... ie. if u want memories on learning to play guitar some other smuck had to have sold his
memories of learning the guitar
the episode witnessed an individual selling most of his memories and forgetting most of his life from what school he went to for university to the
first time he made love

though hopefully as this tech develops they can copy memories instead of removing them for others to use

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